northernlights

I replaced my gripshift with triggers but I don't know why all bikes don't just come with trigger shifters since they are the same in price, around $20 to $30 on Amazon. It would have saved me the time and money of a replacement. Gripshifters are pretty terrible. I hate that you have to loosen your grip to change gears. At speed it forces you to slow down to change gears to avoid the potential safety issue. Triggers are just a lot quicker and more precise. They feel very easy and natural to use while gripshifts are more awkward to handle. I don't see any advantage of the latter.

fietsbob

A Lot has to do with Which grip shifter make and model you Have, and are speaking about.



I still use the standard 2 cable Rohloff grip shifter, myself.. though there are other German companies making compatible alternatives.

northernlights

I tried out about half a dozen different gripshifts at the bike shop, and there wasn't a difference. Triggers are often found in low end to midrange hybrid and mountain bikes, but for some reason not on folders which almost always come with gripshifts except on the higher end models.

rhenning

It is thought by the bicycle marketing gurus that spec bikes the average buyer is to stupid to use a trigger shifter. Of course they probably don't ride a bike. Roger

fietsbob

Meeting target price point is usually king. and they, buying by the truck load, get better deals than you do, even on Amazon.

so did you have the shop change your shifters to meet your needs?



I doubt they will hire you as the new Product Manager to 'fix' the company that makes the Bikes ..


./.

northernlights

Probably.







Then explain why you commony see trigger shifters on $199 bikes at Walmart and Target oh wise one.

corrado33

Grip shifters are simple. Much more simple than a trigger shifter. A cheap grip shifter is a few molded pieces of plastic where every trigger shifter has cast (machined?) metal parts.

I hate most cheap grip shifters. Most of them have hard to change cables, which is what I usually have to do. On the other hand, trigger shifters will often get "gunked up." and stop working. Luckily, if you know what you're doing they're easy to fix most of the time. (Basically what happens is the pawl part of the ratcheting system will refuse to spring BACK and catch the ratchet. A bit of wd 40 and elbow grease will make them work again. There are usually 2 pawls.)

NICE grip shifters are exactly that, nice. You say that you hate having to loosen your grip to shift with grip shifters. I think exactly the opposite for properly installed grip shifters. I wouldn't mind having a nice FD grip shifter on my mountain bike BECAUSE i don't have to loosen my grip to use it.

downtube

I like triggers. I liked the really old Sach's grip shifters, then the crappy Gripshifter brand took them over, and I could not stand the grip shifters they sold.

FYI triggers are necessary while touring. Your wrist will feel the pain on a tour if you use grip shifters. I heard that triggers allow you to shift and brake at the same time, however I never did that ( seems unnatural to me ).

Thanks,
Yan

Abu Mahendra

I've been using 2013 Shimano SLX triggers and 105 5800 brifters. can't imagine using or wanting anything else. smooth, quick, silent, accurate, ergonomic.

for going off the grid and utmost reliability, barend shifters.

northernlights

For sure, trying to ride long distances with a gripshift is a good way to get hand cramps and possibly lead to carpal tunnel.


Yup. I can never go back to gripshifting after using triggers. Gripshifts feel like work to use but triggers are fun to shift and make me enjoy riding my bike more.

Amt0571

Most folding bikes come with grip shifts because they protrude less than triggers and this makes them one less element to worry about when folding/unfolding. It's simply more difficult that they get tangled with cables or scratch the frame.

I've had bikes with grip shift in the past and they were a non-issue for me, although I prefer triggers since I feel they are more comfortable and precise.

towndock

I've switched two bikes from grip to triggers, including my Dahon Helios XL. I was reluctant at first - it was a recommendation by my excellent LBS mechanic after a grip shifter broke.

He was right- I love 'em. Triggers are more fun and feel more like an extension of your body.

northernlights

This explanation makes sense in theory, but doesn't hold up in practice. The new trigger shifter I put on my Tern (to replace the twister) doesn't interfere with the folding in any way. The stock brake levers stick out a lot more than the trigger, and those has never been an issue either.

northernlights

Ditto, that's why I don't like the Shimano design which is thumb and index finger operated. But SRAM triggers are thumb-only operated which makes a lot more sense to me because it doesn't interfere with braking. But my RD wasn't compatible with SRAM so I had to swap that out too.

Amt0571

It doesn't hold up in your Tern, and it doesn't hold up on my Mu P27 either, but this doesn't mean that this is the case with all folding bikes.

A couple of years ago, I had a Monty F19 bike that, when I tried to replace it's stock grip shift, I found it was impossible to fold without damaging either the trigger shifter or the frame.

fietsbob

For those with dueling anecdotes .. stand back to back , take 10 paces , turn and fire.

northernlights

So put the twisters on the Monty, they are not needed on the Tern and Dahon. Is that too hard to understand?

What the heck is a Monty anyway?


And you can stand in the middle. gl

Amt0571

It's not hard to understand, but the problem of not working well with triggers also happens with other bikes. Not all folding bikes are created equal, you know. There are bikes that come with grip shifts for a reason.

BTW, Monty is a Spanish brand, mostly specialized in trials bikes although they also sell folding bikes and low end mountain bikes.

northernlights

So put them on the bikes that need them, not the ones that don't. I know that may be very difficult concept for some of you people to grasp, but maybe one of these days it will sink in. Give it some time.

iamclaus

When I upgraded the drivetrain from the stock 8-spd cluster to a Sturmey Archer CS-RF3 3-spd internal hub with 8-spd cluster, I dumped the stock gripshifter (rear derailleur) in favour of Shimano trigger shifter, and didn't bother with the lever-shifter that came with the internal hub, and put on a Shimano trigger shifter instead. I'm more comfortable with the triggers. They don't interfere with the fold despite being bulkier.

northernlights

Brake levers are a lot bulkier than any trigger shifter. The Brompton which has the most compact fold of any bike I can think of comes standard with trigger shifters. So it's hard to imagine it interfering with the fold of a folding bike, unless the bike is poorly designed off-brand junk you should probably stay away from anyway.

tds101